Electric switch assembly



July 5, 1949. K, g, ALLISON ET AL 2,474,999

ELECTRIC SWITCH ASSEMBLY Filed June 2, 1947 INVENTQRS Kenneth C.AllLs9n.-

BY Edward RHerr'lck.

Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED OFFICE ELECTRIUSWITOH" ASSEMBLY Kenneth 'G. AllisonpCrystal Lake; and Edward P;

Herrick, Palatine; Ill., assignorsto Grigsby Allison Company, .Inc., ArlingtonnHeights, 111., a corporation of Illinois Applicationdime'z; 1947, Serial No. 751,674:

6 Claims. 1.

This invention relates to improvements; in: an electric switch assembly.

Objects of this invention are simplicity of corn struction, durabilit reliability, inexpensiveness of manufacture and other obj cats: and advantages which will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. l isa view, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, of aswitch constructed. in accordance with this inventioncshowing the man-'- ner in which the contacts are positioned when in circuit-open position.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view'ofthe switch shown: in Fig. 1.

Fig; 3 is a fragmentary elevationaliviewsimilar to Fig. v1 but showing'the manner ini'whichthe contacts are separated for interruption of. the circuit to be controlled thereby.

Fig. 4 is a downward'sectional-view talsemon line 4 -4 ofFig'. 1.

Fig. 5 is an'upward sectional view-taken on lirre 55"of"Fig. 1.

Fig. dis a downward sectional view taken on line IS -6 i Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing; the present switch includes a front plate lQ-having parallelarms ll at opposite edges thereof which extend therefrom at substantially right-angles to'the plane of' the plate ill: Bridging the space between said-"arms ll of the plate I!) and mountedin spaced-parallel relation to the plate IE is a plate l2 provided with ears l3 at opposite edges thereof having open ings 14 in alignment with and adapted to re ceive the reduced outer ends of the armsl l there through. Arms l5 formed 'at peripherally spaced locationson the edge of the plate l2 and extending in the direction of the front plate ID are provided with reduced end" portions which engage aligned notches20---formed in the edge of an'insulating base 2!, which end portions are. bent into engagement with the remote face of the base 2| whereby the latter is rigidly supported at afixed distance from and parallel to th'explate I22.

A'nexternally threaded. sleeve. or bushing-":22 is fastened at one end to the edge of a suitable opening formed centrally of the front plate ID, from which the sleeve 22 extends away from the space between the plates l2 and 2f. An operating shaft 22 is supported for rotation in the sleeve 22 A C-washer 23 keyed. to a groove 26 in one end of the shaft is engaged by the outermost edge of the bushing 22 so as to position the opposite end of the shaft, havin flattened sides 25, at a fixed distance beyond the insulating base 2| and 55 2. thepla-te l2; thelatte-r having central openings in which saidend of'the-shaft' has free turning movement.

I Interposed betwe'enthe plate l2 andthe insulating base Zlis an 'insula-ting disk 'Ziiprovided with a central opening. 21. with the edges of. which thefla'ttened sidesrfivot the shaft 22 have-driving engagement. Thus the shaft 22 and. dish 26 rotate in. unison while the dish 26 has limited axial movement relative to the shaft in the space between the insulating base=2 l and the plate l2. Pressing againstthe disk 26 and actingto urge the latter in. the direction' of the plate I2 is the outwardly sprung end: of a resilient contact 4| secured as at 42 to the insulating base 2| and havin a perforated terminal portion projecting beyond the periphery of the base- 21 to facilitate attachment of circuit wires. A stationary contact 43 securedasat'Mto the base 21', also provided -with a. terminal. portion in the same manner as contact 41-; is'arranged'to be overlapped by the outwardly sprung: end of 1 said contact 4!. The: disk ZEi-is provided with a notch 45 inv the edge thereofz and adiametrically opposite recess 4a, which. recess and notch-are adapted to register with-conical projections Al and4'8; respectively. formed in andcextending from the face of the plate l2- op-posi-te the-disk Zfiinone rotated position .ofthe shaft 22' and. disk 26; In such position of, the-disk relative tothe plate 1-2, the disk 26 is per-mitted to move toward the'plate l2 a distancesufiicient to accommodatemovement of the resilient contact 4| out" of engagement with the stationary. contact 4-3 overlapped thereby. Whenwthe disk 26 is rotate'd by the shaft 22 to a position wherein the-notch and recess are out of registry withwth-e': projections 41 and 48, the disk will coact withathe:pro'jections llnand 48- as a cam to press the resilient' conta'ctA-l into engagement with =.the-:-contacti 43- to close: the-circuit through said 1 contacts.

As shown-xiii Figs: l andi2, the "shaft 22 and the reducedien'ds of the; arms I l r of the front plate It), may be of such length' as to provide a mountingrfor'annauxiliary or tandem switch comprising contact arms 50 secured to a rotor 49 supported for turning movement with the shaft 22 to engage selected contacts 5l' and 52 arranged circularly on a stationary insulating base 53 secured to the arms H. The base 53, as shown, is supported in spaced parallel relation to the front plate ID by means of a spacer 54 constituting a strip of material which is sheared and stamped inwardly of its edges to provide alternating oppositely offset vertical sections 55 Whose inner surfaces define a passage through which the ends of the arms H project for attachment to the member 53 by staking or other suitable means.

Rotated positions of the shaft 22 and the disk 26 and the rotor 49 are indexed or located to coincide with the operation of the contacts 4| and 42 on the insulating base 21 and the contacts 50, and 52 by means of a spring disk 66 staked to the shaft 22 as at 61 and provided with a tail engageable with suitable stops on the plate I0, such as a lug 68 and the edge of one of the arms ll.

As clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the opening in the disk 26 is of hour glass periphery so as to afford a slight lost motion between the disk 26 and the operating shaft 22 whereby the disk may finish each of its circuit opening or closing movements with a snap action.

The present invention accordingly affords a novel and improved construction of rotary switch having contacts which are normally biased to open circuit position together with simple and efficient means for effecting control of such contacts. It is also apparent that the present invention provides novel means for providing tandem mounting of a plurality of switches combined for control b a common operating element therefor.

It will be understood that the switch construction of the present invention may be embodied in various types of plural switch assemblies other than that illustrated and described, and that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric switch comprising a pair of spaced, rigidly connected plates, a flat disk of insulating material interposed between said plates and adapted to seat against the surface of one of said plates, a pair of contacts secured to the other of said plates and facing said disk, one of said contacts comprising a resilient arm whose free end overlies and. is biased out of engagement with the other contact, cooperating means on the disk and the plate against which the disk is adapted to seat for applying pressure on said resilient arm through said disk to move said arm into engagement with the other contact in a selected rotary position of said disk, so accommodating said disk in another rotary position as to release said resilient arm for movement of the latter out of engagement with said contact, and means for rotating said disk including a rotating operating shaft on which said disk is supported for relative axial movement.

2. An electric switch as defined in claim 1 wherein said cooperating means on the disk and the plate against which the disk is adapted to seat comprises projections formed in and extending from transversely opposed surface portions of said plate opposite said disk, and recesses formed in said disk adapted to register with and accommodate said projections.

3. An electric switch as defined in claim 1 wherein said cooperating means on the disk and the plate against which the disk is adapted to seat comprises conical projections formed in and extending from transversel opposed surface portions of said plate opposite said disk, and recesses formed in said disk adapted to register with and accommodate said projections.

a. An electric switch comprising a pair of plates, means for supporting said plates in fixed assembly including a member having parallel arms at opposite edges thereof between which said plates are arranged in spaced apart relation lengthwise of and intermediate the opposite ends of said arms, a flat disk of insulating material interposed between said plates and adapted to seat against the surface of one of said plates, a pair of contacts secured to the other of said plates and yieldably urging said disk toward a seated position as aforesaid, one of said contacts comprising a resilient arm whose free end overlies and is normally biased out of engagement with the other contact, cooperating means on the disk and plate against which the disk is urged to seat by said resilient arm for applying pressure on the latter through said disk to move said arm into engagement with the other contact in a selected rotary position of said disk and so accommodating said disk in another rotary position as to release said resilient arm for movement of the lat ter out of engagement with said contact, aligned openings in said supporting member, plates and disk, a bearing extending outwardly from and. secured to the edges of the opening in said supporting member, means for rotating said disk including an operating shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing and extending through said openings in said supporting member, plates and disk.

5. An electric switch as defined in claim 4 whereinsaid shaft extends beyond said plates a distance substantially coextensive with. the outer limits of said arms of the supporting member, and an insulating base fixed between the outer limits of said arms is provided with circularly arranged contacts which cooperate with contacts provided on a rotor operatively connected with the outer end of the shaft.

6. An electric switch as defined in claim 4 wherein said cooperating means on the disk and the plate against which the disk is adapted to seat comprises projections formed in and extending from transversely opposed surface portions of said plate opposite said disk, and recesses formed in said disk adapted to register with and accommodate said projections.

KENNETH C. ALLISON. EDWARD P. HERRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,203,236 Randolph June 4, 1940 2,386,047 Gates Oct. 2, 1945 

